Goerli Testnet Token (gETH) Value Surges Due to LayerZero’s Cross-Chain Project
LayerZero’s Testnet Bridge, a cross-chain project, has caused controversy in the Ethereum community after the testnet Goerli’s token, gETH, surged in value due to speculation. LayerZero created the bridge to connect Goerli with Ethereum’s mainnet, alongside a token symbolizing ETH for testing purposes.
According to LayerZero, gETH on Goerli is difficult to earn, hindering developers’ ability to test new solutions. By using the pool swap, developers can purchase tokens on Goerli, removing the inconvenience of waiting for payment via a faucet. However, some in the Ethereum community have criticized LayerZero for ‘financializing’ Goerli, believing that testnet tokens should remain free. They fear that users will now have an incentive to hoard tokens, leading to a token shortage.
Some investors have speculated on the token, raising the gETH price to $1.6, which is 16 times higher than LayerZero’s original swap price. However, the price quickly fell back to its original value of around $0.3 to $0.4. Polygon’s CISO, Mudit Gupta, expressed his disappointment on Twitter, stating that testnet ether should be free and that the current demand for gETH on Goerli is non-existent.
This is the start of the end of Goerli testnet. It served us well.
My faucet distributed 6 million or so Goerli eth for free. Worth around 4 million USD at current prices 🙃.
My RPC node served over 100 billion requests.
They are both non functional now. I’ll miss Goerli.
— Mudit Gupta (@Mudit__Gupta) February 26, 2023
Gupta also revealed that his faucet had distributed approximately six million Goerli ether for free, worth around $4 million at current prices. He acknowledged that the situation had prompted him to consider ending the project altogether.
Hayden Adams, the founder of Uniswap, which cooperates with LayerZero to open a pool swap for ETH testnet, was also displeased with the speculation. However, he seemed unconcerned as long as users continue to swap tokens on Uniswap, thereby generating transaction fees for the DEX. Adams tweeted that if users were buying Goerli ETH, they were doing so on a soon-to-be-unsupported testnet.
If you’re buying goerli eth, why in the actual hell are you doing that
Y’all know it’s a deprecated and soon to be fully unsupported testnet right?
That said, always fun to have weird things happen on uniswap pic.twitter.com/HzFz1pEW1f
— hayden.eth 🦄 (@haydenzadams) February 27, 2023
Despite the controversy, Ethereum developers have taken into account LayerZero’s position regarding difficult access to Goerli ETH testnet. They are now discussing the creation of a new testnet called Holii, which will ensure the fair distribution of ETH testnet among developers. The controversy surrounding LayerZero’s project highlights the challenges of creating a transparent and fair test environment for developers while protecting the community from unnecessary speculation.
Read more:
- LayerZero Faces Backlash From Ethereum Users Over Financialization Of Goerli Testnet
- Aave Launches GHO Stablecoin On Ethereum’s Goerli Testnet For Development And Testing